BrotherHood
by BeautifulyBlue
Summary: Joe Lamb is expecting a normal 8th grade year when he becomes entangled with the lives of Charles, an overweight but emotionally broken aspiring film maker and Cary, a pyromaniac with a wound on his wrist and a dark secret.
1. Chapter 1

**BeautifulyBlue: Sorry for my pause on "Hello" but I've been having a horrible writers block and I wanted to experiment on another story that popped into my head one day. This is a prequel to Super 8, only by a few months though. I hope you'll enjoy this story as much as I enjoy writing it : ) Please subscribe and review. Thank you so much!**

Lillian, Ohio was a small, carefree town. It wasn't considered the south, nor was it up north either. One half was full of religious and elders while another was for the younger, more rebellious citizens. Then the center was a bit of a mix, no one really paid attention to who was who on either side of Lillian nor did anyone really care. For the most part it was crime free, but whenever a crime was committed it always was, unfortunately, a kidnapping.

Children from ages 5-8 were especially victims. It was very heart-rendering, more so 1967-1970, a three year search for a young girl who was stolen right off her own front lawn. Her body was discovered in the middle of a field in June 1970. Teenagers however were more frightened by this than children themselves, however some tried to turn their attention away from crimes…Especially Joe Lamb, who was one to NEVER get involved.

Joe Lamb entered the doors of Lillian Middle School. He turned 14 that August and it was his last year as a middle schooler. Within 9 months, he'd be done with the stupidity of 7th grade couples, 6th grade arrogants, and immature comments and lunch room fights. Even in the smallest town in Ohio was full of assholes and dicks. Joe had faced 7 years of bullying, and figured he'd be facing an 8th year. He tolerated it. Joe had this patience that tolerated _anything _really. Having to have been 'patient' by waiting for his dad to come home late every night from the police station.

His father was Deputy Jackson Lamb, therefore Joe was the cleanest kid anyone ever knew. He never misbehaved, not _wanting _to be the kid who disrespected his parents. His mother Elizabeth, he'd especially never disrespect. He loved her more than life itself. Elizabeth took great care of him…she was mainly all Joe had. With his father gone all the time, she was always in his care.

Joe was in the familiar hallways of Lillian Middle, he had a locker change and was scavenging to find it. He pushed through the crowd of tired and unenthusiastic kids with the exception of a group of girls running towards each other and hugging.

"Oh my god! I haven't seen you all summer! How are you-"

"You know this is 8th grade now. We rule the school-"

"That's far out! Have you ever been to the keys down in Florida-"

It was 1978, a year Joe could never forget; he considered becoming an 8th grader the official transition from childhood to teen hood. He had even made a list of accomplishments he could make this year. The first bell rang and he still hadn't found his locker. Students began scattering around the halls, all with yellow schedules in their hands. Joe checked his, he had Pre-Algebra for his first class. His most hated subject but at least he'd be getting it over with. Jackson was excellent at math, but he never had time to help Joe with his homework in previous years.

"_Welcome back students, we hope you all had a great summer! The club and activity sign up sheets for this school year are in the cafeteria for Junior Thespians, Creative Writing, the girls soccer team, the boys basket ball team and crime watch. We hope to see you there!"_ Joe always hated how over energetic school announcements were, he rolled his pencil on his desk, _"Reasons to purchase a yearbook this year its better and more creative than ever as Lillian Middle School will be using hard back for the first time in history!"_

That got the students excited, but Joe still had his head down observing everyone in class. He knew almost everyone due to his small town. There was only about four or five people he didn't know to well. He was really good with names and faces. Joe could all ready tell he wasn't going to like his teacher, he looked like a very rule-abiding teacher who, if he saw a student drinking water, would give a referal to. The biggest offense in Lillian Middle _was _probably drinking water in class. It occurred more often than school fights…less than at Lillian High anyway…

"Melissa?"

"Here."

"Amanda?"

"Here."

Roll call also dragged on for Joe, although he tried to keep a presentable look.

"Joseph?"

"Here." he raised his hand.

"Charles?"

…

"Charles Kaznyk?"

There wasn't an answer. Everyone looked at the empty desk, as if 'Charles' was out commiting a murder. Joe didn't mind, he didn't know anyone named Charles anyway.

The teacher scoffed, flipping the list of names, "Absent on the first day,", he mumbled under his breath, "Cary?"

Another no answer.

"Cary Scott?"

Students looked at each other as Joe just looked down at his book bag, wondering which binder to use for the class.

"No show." he muttered, "Alright students! First day, we'll start off by introducing ourselves."

Joe didn't care for meeting people who could get themselves in trouble, even if they got out of trouble in the end. And as long as he could remember the names, he wouldn't be getting involved with 'Charles Kaznyk' or 'Cary Scott'.

Within 15 minutes of class, Joe was having a bathroom pass signed. He preferred going during class, less people, no line. He wandered the empty halls of the 8th grade building. Not too familiar with the upstairs area. The boys bathroom was full of girls home phone numbers and other profanity on the stalls.

He exited with his agenda (which was also his pass) in his hand when he could hear aggravated shouting break the silence.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'D DO THAT!"

"SHUT UP! Jesus!"

Joe didn't want to go near the sound, but somehow his feet were carrying him slowly towards that direction. It was coming from around the corner at the end of the hall. He kept silent, maybe they'd go the opposite way, but he could hear stomping and grunting.

"Why would you be so stupid?"

They were both boys. Joe slowly dragged himself over to the end of the hall and looked around,

"Calm down! It's not that bad!"

Joe saw two boys about his age,

"Not that bad? NOT THAT BAD?"

Joe watched as an overweight, auburn haired young boy pinned a blond, and rather scrawny boy into the lockers. He was stunned by the his strength.

"You think that ALMOST BLOWING OUR ASSES OFF BEHIND THE SCHOOL PARKING LOT ISN'T THAT BAD?" The overweight boy screamed into the blonds face, he was trying to keep from cowering, "YOU THINK THE FACT THAT TRYING TO USE TWO TONS OF EXPLOSIVES ON THE SCHOOL BUILDING ISN'T THAT BAD? ARE YOU TRYING TO GET US KILLED?"

Joe's heart pounded, speechless at the kid's lungs, he didn't understand what the hell was even going on.

The blond tried to push him away but alas, he didn't match to the auburn haired boy, "Do you want to become a terrorist Cary…? DO YOU?" the blond nodded and shivered as Joe started to back away, "I'm trying to protect you Cary." he let go of the blond, shaking and breathing, Joe felt bad for the poor kid, "I want to protect you and THIS IS THE THANKS I GET?"

The blond remained by the lockers, arms folded as the auburn haired boy walked towards Joe, the two came eye-to-eye as Joe hoped _wouldn't _occur. The boy seemed embarrassed as he took a step back looking away, the blond was still shaking in the background.

"Uh…"

"Um…" The two 'greeted'.

The boy spoke, "I'm so sorry you had to uh…see that." he blushed.

Joe hesitated to speak, "Its uh…fine." He was still paying more attention to the cowering blond,

"We just…had a…blow out, as you saw." he threw in a nervous laugh. "Everyone had one right?"

Joe 'laughed' "Yeah."

"Uh, my names Charles."

"_Shit" _"I'm Joe. Joe Lamb."

Charles walked away, most likely to Joe's math class, as 'Cary' should be as well, which Joe assumed to be the shaking blond. He couldn't leave him standing there, he slowly walked up behind the blond, who was much shorter up close.

"Um…are you ok?"

The blond didn't respond. He put a hand on his shoulder, "Hey." The blond turned around, he had a full set of braces and crawling out from underneath his blue eyes, the distinctive wet streaks of tears,

"What?" he asked coldly.

Joe backed away, actually intimidated by the 5 foot tall crying blond. "Are you ok?"

He violently shoved away a tear, "Yeah. Just…stupidness."

Joe stood next to him with his mouth open, "Is there anything I can do?"

Cary looked at him, his eyes glassy with a look of anger and pity at the same time, "You can not mention this for one thing." he replied, wiping his tears with his sleeves.

"I wont." The blond looked up at him, still glassy eyed, "I'm Joe…we have math together."

"Terrific." He sarcastically remarked walking passed him, Joe wasn't hurt at all, in fact, he was eager to know him,

"What's your name?" he called.

"Cary." he answered, walking into the boys restroom.

What Joe had planned was polar opposite than from five minutes earlier, he now wanted to be completely, and utterly involved with Charles and Cary.


	2. Chapter 2

**BeautifulyBlue: Thanks for the patience, I promise I'll make this story extremely worth your time and the wait! Thank you guys for the reviews and subscribes! You are all so sweet! : ) PLEASE let me know what you think and as I've said MANY times….*drum rolls* PLEASE REVIEW! You guys rock!**

"So did you like your first day of 8th grade? Were all the new 6th graders short?" Elizabeth asked Joe, trying to lighten his mood noticing how dull he looked.

"It was fine." He slammed the door behind him, tired and worn out taking turns walking up then down stairs from class to class. His mother bit her lip,

"Any homework?"

"No, you and dad just have to sign some papers." Joe tossed his bag on the chair next to the dining room table. His mother was washing some dishes; she suddenly remembered when Joe mentioned 'dad'.

"Oh...Joe," he turned his attention from the fridge to her, "Your father won't be home until late tonight. He's piled up at the station."

He was used to it, he shrugged, "How late?"

"…Over night?"

_"Great…"_

"Don't worry, I thought since he won't be here to complain about it we'll order pizza." Elizabeth was never one to ruin spirits, she really was all about having fun, even using the littlest piece of entertainment for herself was amusing like singing while cleaning or whistling while doing her make up in the bathroom because of the echo. It entertained Joe as well…although he was more…'calm' than her.

"Sounds good to me." He smiled, getting some water from the fridge.

"It's funny,", she finally put the last plate on the pile ready to be placed in the cabinets, "Your dad was really quiet when I met him…maybe that's where you get it from."

Joe laughed, "Considering it's certainly not inherited from you." The two laughed, Elizabeth and Jackson were polar opposites. It was funny how the two clicked together so easily. They had gone to the same elementary and middle school together but they didn't meet until they were juniors in high school in the small town of Sylva, North Carolina they grew up in together. They agreed to move away as long as Elizabeth got her one wish; a little boy.

Humorously, Elizabeth didn't have an easy childhood, she had chores such as mowing lawns, pulling weeds, vacuuming 3 times a day and god knew if her room wasn't clean, she'd get two days worth of restrictions. It wasn't her mother her constantly drowned her, it was her father…well, her step-father. The two never had a close bond, as Elizabeth avoided him as much as possible. He'd make her do pushups or sit ups after dinner every other day, practice a physical exercise known as 'isolation' which hurt like hell. Then he'd sneak around behind _her _back, reading her diaries, listening to her phone calls and making her curfew 10. 10 wasn't so bad, but even if she got home at 10:01, there'd be punishments.

Her father also wouldn't let her wear perfumes or make up, although, her and her mother would sneak and try samples at malls and Elizabeth began sneaking make up to school in 6th grade.

Jackson had a rather spoiled childhood compared to Elizabeth; his only chore was to keep his own room clean. His parents had a close relationship compared to Elizabeth's parents strained one. A majority of the time, his family would go out to a nice diner and eat, go to expensive malls in Ashville (the closet mall from Sylva) and didn't live on an isolated mountain like Elizabeth did. Despite this rather luxurious life, Jackson was a hard working man at heart. All his life, after a childhood of Superman, Batman and Spiderman comics, he wanted to be one of the super heroes himself. Whenever he noticed crimes on the streets, he'd always complain how he wished he could prevent it.

He began his police training his sophomore year of college, practicing crime scene investigations, handling guns and so forth. Unfortunately when Jackson was in his 20's, his father was crashed by a drunk driver and killed by the impact. It brought back the childhood memories of wanting to prevent, wanting to heal, wanting to save. As a teenager, Jackson would compare himself to Superman or Spiderman, wishing he had the strength, wits or bravery like them to go out and actually fight. Then he finally started comparing himself in a more realistic light; he didn't have 'spidey senses' or 'super sonic hearing' that could tell him where the danger was right away.

He just had his gut feeling…and the police station phone service. Jackson finally became the hero he desired to be in the end: a father.

But the sad part was, no matter how much he loved Joe, he just never had time to be with him like Elizabeth did.

At least every day he knew he was protecting his family.

Elizabeth went ahead and signatured Joe's forms to get it over with. Later on in his room, Joe decided to work on his models. As a hobby, mainly out of boredom, he loved to recreate characters or objects seen on television. He began _The Hunchback of Notre Dame_. He watched it a week ago, missing the first half hour.

His chocolate lab Lucy was lying underneath his desk chair, comfortably. She was four years old, and was most likely the sweetest dog possible. She was quiet with a soft temper and a wonderful, social personality. A little on the thin side but not anorexic looking. Lucy didn't like to eat needless to say, so Joe attempted to fill her up during the day with treats and snacks.

They got her when she was 8 weeks old from a breeder. A four hour drive, (eight counting the drive home) but she was worth it. For Joe, it was love at first sight. She was so small and her fur was very shaggy and fluffy then, like a small bear. Lucy ran around Joe and jumped on him like she knew this was her new family. Joe held her in his lap the entire ride home in which she fell asleep most of the ride.

She used to be so easy to scoop up in his arms but within a few months, she grew twice her size. Their vet had told them even for a Lab she'd be big. No matter her size, she had a wonderful personality and spirit and she was like Joe's sister…his fluffy sister who used her mouth as hands.

"Hey Joe?"

He didn't respond, to in touch with the model, focusing on the coloring of it's skin.

"Joe!"

"Yeah?"

"Can you go pull the trashcan in from the drive way?" Elizabeth called.

"Sure!"

Joe liked the neighborhood during the blue hour of the day. The street lights would turn on, he'd hear crickets chirping, and the simple peacefulness of that time of day helped him feel more comfortable walking outside of the house in the dark. Lucy followed him everywhere he went, she was currently observing with her tongue hanging out as he walked to the edge of the driveway and tugging the now empty trash bin and began to roll it back. Suddenly she started barking; a low intense bark, sounding more like a Rottweiler or German Shepherd than her normal high bark. She always got protective when she saw a stranger, Joe had to calm her,

"No! Lucy!"

She growled looking out on the street. "Down Lucy." She licked her chops lying on her belly, staring intensely across the street. He decided to see what she was fussing about, her expected it to be an old man walking by or someone riding a bike…but instead he saw a familiar auburn-haired boy with the same blond he had tried to comfort earlier; Charles and Cary.

They hadn't even noticed Lucy's bark, Charles was stepping into his home; right across from Joe's surprising him in unknown delight or worry. Cary continued on a little farther down, he didn't even notice Joe was watching him, about two houses down from Charles, he stepped onto the front porch of a home, obviously his own.

That's when Joe became more curious, he noticed Charles at the upstairs window of the house in front of his, watching Cary.

Cary knocked. Why would he knock on the door of his own home he wondered, then after two minutes of staring and observing, Joe hardly realizing he was doing so, it opened. He saw a boy, not that much older than him standing above Cary.

"…Nathan?" Cary muttered.

"Is it true? That you-" 'Nathan' was cut off by a hug from Cary.

_"His brother?" _Joe wondered in his own head, he watched as the much taller blond picked up Cary,

"My God…"

"I'm sorry Nathan."

"Mom and Dad are gonna be pissed."

"I didn't know what I was thinking."

The memory suddenly came back to Joe, 'blowing up the school?' it seemed childish but the way they were speaking… Joe took a glance at Charles's window, to see that he was watching him. His stare bore right back at Joe's. A glance he would never forget. Joe turned around with Lucy and left the scene.


	3. Chapter 3

The bell for 3rd lunch rang, of course a pile of 8th graders started blocking Joe from entering the cafeteria. Lillian Middle was made up of a bunch of scattered buildings, one for all academic courses 6th through 8th, another for specials and majors, the gymnasium for sports clubs only, an auditorium for school meetings and the theater kids, and of course the cafeteria. He had been told that the high school had a building for each grade, one for specials and majors for all grades, one cafeteria, one HUGE auditorium, two gymnasiums, and a football field; a high school requirement.

Joe felt intimidated by how massive high school sounded, he could barley handle the middle school. Let alone the students, he pretty much knew everyone by either face or name. This would be a place full of people he never knew or seen before, and it didn't help that they'd be much taller or 'smarter' than him either. Unlike most of his friends who had older brothers or sisters to warn them or inform them on their experiences, he had nothing.

Joe had grown content to sitting by himself at lunch, he'd rather _eat _than talk for the only free 45 minutes of his school day anyway. To avoid lines, he always packed a lunch, something he _knew _he'd enjoy. As he finally made it through the doors, he did his usual scanning of the crowd of familiar faces, searching for a table. And before he even realized it, it was happening. Joe couldn't do it, he _really _wanted to, but never in his life had he found the courage to. He saw her, the beautiful, tall, blonde-haired, sapphire-eyed one who's name spilt across his tongue; Alice Dainard.

Joe had always heard she was a very nice girl, but he'd never found courage to speak to her. He had never had a class with her either, with the exception of 5th grade when all he did was answer a question for her during math time. He didn't count that. She was sitting with a group of her friends, smiling, giggling, chatting, he wanted to be a part of it but it seemed as though he was frozen, still standing when nearly half of his 8th grade class had already sat down. His mother worked with her father, whom was a good acquaintance, but not 'friend'. Joe more often than not kept quiet when she was brought up, he couldn't even walk properly when she was near.

Joe, unfortunately, shrugged off the idea of sitting with her and proceeded to walk across the cafeteria.

Then he saw more familiar faces. He saw Charles and Cary, who seemed to be talking casually, at their own table.

Joe still felt achy and uncomfortable about the whole situation, Charles's stare from the night before still bore into his mind, how blank it was, almost mask-like. Joe felt as though if he uttered a simple, friendly conversation, he'd be able to move on with his life. It sounded so simple but the closer he got to the table, the more his heart started to pound. It felt like an adrenaline rush.

Cary was talking a mile a minute, "Dude I told you, to make a M-80, all you have to do is roll up a few-"

"Hi…" Joe interrupted, the two stared at him, Charles confused, and Cary bored. "Can I sit with you two?" He tried his best not to sound awkward or to mumble.

"Yeah sure." Charles scooted over on his bench.

Easy enough.

"So I…" their stares made Joe intense, "I feel like we didn't get to introduce ourselves very well yesterday…" He hoped they weren't taking it to offense or as a joke, especially with the situation of how they met. "My name's Joe Lamb. We have math together but we never seem to…talk…" he held out a hand to Cary, who already know his name.

"Hello again," he shook, "My name's Cary Scott."

Joe grew calmer as he shook Charles's hand, "Charles Kaznyk, uh, I think I live right across the street from you."

He mentally flinched, trying to keep a straight and a 'now informed' face, nodding. Cary chimed in,

"Yeah me too." He winced, "But uh, I'm moving."

Joe winced right back, "Really?"

"Yeah, but closer to the summer, and I'm not leaving Lillian, we're moving closer to the high school 'cause my brother goes there, and I'll be too in a year-"

"He gets it." Charles interrupted, Cary going on and on with the conversation like he always did.

Joe smiled, "That's cool. What grades your brother in?"

"He's a sophomore."

"Yeah, and unlike him, he's a charmer."

Cary laughed, knowing his brother was _far _from it.

Joe finally got into his comfort zone, "So, how long have you guys known each other?"

"Since about 1st grade." Cary moaned, stretching a bit.

"Yup, and I can't get rid of him." Charles joked, the more he cared about someone, the more he joked with them. As for Cary, the more he _teased _them. "Anyways, one older brother is nothing compared to me, I've got two older sisters and two _younger _sisters."

Joe's eyes widened, "**Wow.**"

Cary smirked, "Yeah, it's actually quite fun helping babysit, so what about you? Any siblings?"

"No, just me."

"Awesome, bet it's nice getting your own space." Cary lamented, having his brother investigate almost every step he took, let alone breath he took.

"Hey chompers try living with four mutants in your house." Charles replied sarcastically, mocking him. Joe suddenly grew surprised,

"Uh, Charles." He grew serious, "That's kind of…mean?"

They both laughed, Joe looked at them confused, Cary smiled, "Kid, it's fine. We just joke with each other a lot." Charles nodded, "Like watch," Cary leaned forward, "FAT ASS!"

"BRACE FACE!"

Cary leaned back, getting comfortable again, "See?"

Joe began to sink under a rock, a majority of the cafeteria was looking at them, he understood them now, but…something still seemed off. These were two different people he was meeting than from the day before. He didn't even realize it but he was completely zoning out about how off they were than how he 'expected' them to be, the two however just went back to chatting until Joe noticed something peculiar,

"Hey, Cary?"

"What?"

"Um…" he was staring at his left wrist, "Why is there a cast?"

Cary was confused, then he looked, "Oh that?" he raised his arm, staring at it blankly for half a second, "Nothing, I had an accident on my bike, sprained it."

"Ouch." He winced.

"Yeah, it was pretty bad but it's healing quite nicely."

Charles 'cleared his throat'. "Why don't we discuss something else now, like how there's this short film contest in Cleveland this summer!"

Joe, once again, was confused as to where the conversation was going, it kept turning and twisting, and the weirdest part for him: it was all casual.

"Yeah Charles, my parents really aren't up to a two hour drive this summer."

"Come on! It'll be so cool!"

"Ok, what's the movie going to be about? We'll never make something as good as _Star Wars_."

Charles's eyes widened, so did Cary's, in fear, "NO! I AM NOT REMAKING ANOTHER STAR WARS PARODY THAT YOU MADE UP-"

"Would you chill? I was thinking something along the lines of…a monster movie!"

Joe felt invisible, Cary gave an unimpressed stare, "A monster movie?"

"Yeah! Like _Halloween _or…um…_Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde_ or something like that!"

Joe finally realized he had something of use, thanks to his models, "You know, I do have a monster movie make up kit, for you know like Frankenstein or zombie's or whatever…if you decide to…do it." He said, getting more and more awkward as the exaggeratingly long sentence went on.

"Joe, that's far out! Thanks!" Joe smiled, Cary finally grew into the idea, and Charles was indescribably happy on the inside, "This is going to be mint!"

The bell rang, the three, along with the rest of the cafeteria stood up, Charles tapped Joe's shoulder before the three walked separate ways, "You know Joe, you're pretty awesome." He smiled,

"Gee, thanks."

Cary smiled, "No problem, catch you on the flip side." They walked off to their next class, leaving Joe giddily happy to have new friends, and painfully confused as to who they really were.


	4. Chapter 4

Joe kept catching himself staring at the clock in the back of the room. 45 minutes of class time felt like an eternity, especially in U.S. history. The only thing that made the class worthwhile was his teacher, Ms. Starzynski. The irony of her job is that she is of French decent. She was once a French language teacher, but she felt her place was more in the historian area. She has her bachelor's degree and master's degree in history, speaks fluent English, and is very young for a teacher. Joe had calculated that she is in her mid or late twenties. No matter the case, she loved her job, which made her all a better teacher Joe had ever had.

It was only ten minutes into class when there was a knock and the entire room faced the door.

"Yes?" Starzynski called, the door slowly opened and Joe's eyes widened when a blonde stepped in.

"May I take a test in here?" Alice held up her papers awkwardly, she hated having everyone's attention.

"Sure, in the back." She pointed to the table where Joe sat. He noticed there was a free seat next to his. Crap!

Starzynski went back to lecturing almost immediately on the Reconstruction Era. Joe kept trying to refrain from looking at Alice, but she had a nasty habit of catching his eye. Her long, fine hair always covered her face whenever she'd lean forward to do work. Joe hated not being able to tell if she was eyeballing him or not. Of course, the frequent bubbling in on her scantron proved otherwise. He tried to let the teacher's voice distract him but he wasn't sure why he was so intensely focused on Alice. It was something about the acquaintanceship between her father and his mother that made him want to talk to her, it was an excuse to be able to. That was when another question came up: Why? 

Why does he want to talk to her so badly he thought, not even considering his puppy-like affection towards her. It was the little things like this that agitated him. She suddenly pushed her chair back and stood up. The sound of the chair's legs screeching on the floor made him fidget. She walked to the front of the room where the teacher was,

"All done." She said quietly.

"Let me write you a pass." Ms. Starzynski walked over to her mini desks with her clipboard and note slips were, as she did so, the unforgettable moment happened, Alice was looking at her 'audience' and just happened to glance at Joe directly in the eye. He wasn't sure what to do, so he just grinned, as gently as possible not to creep her out. She smiled back at him for a moment before the teacher handed her the pass. She exited the classroom.

So she _did _have an idea of who Joe was, aside from the deputy's son. He hadn't even realized it, but a half hour of class had passed during all that time. When he walked out to the hallway on his way to his last class of the day, he happened to spot Cary and Charles by their lockers, consecutively next to his own. He tried to keep it casual with his new 'friends'.

"Hey guys."

They both turned to him at the same time, "Oh hey." Charles greeted him as Cary struggled to open his locker door, "We weren't just talking about you." He jokingly stated. Joe forced a laugh,

"Okay?"

Charles rolled his eyes, "We were talking about the monster movie and how useful your make up kit would be."

Joe loosened up once more, "Oh, okay." He turned to Cary, who was slamming his lock in a fit of frustration, this happened to him at least once a year. "Do you need some help?" He asked.

"I got this." Cary claimed, turning the dials rapidly once more.

"Anyways," Charles re-started, "I just want to let you know this may not start for a while, I need to think of a story, write a script, then gather up some people. I already know Cary wants to be a zombie." Cary wasn't paying attention. "So…we've got that."

Joe giggled opening up his locker, "Making progress is always a good thing." His own words reminded him of earlier, when he and Alice acknowledged each other…if he knew whether the other two knew he or not he'd brag about it as much as possible. Well, if he knew they _felt _the same way as he did or not. The sound of metal clashing into each other brought Joe back to reality. All he could now see was Cary staring bewildered at the lock in his hand…that was attached onto the locker door a few seconds ago.

Charles leveled himself to Cary's height, whispering in his ear, "Smooth." Joe was surprised, for someone who's 5'0" and approximately less than 100 pounds could do _that _in a fit of annoyance? Cary used his index finger to reach into the hole he created and pry open the door. He jumped up, "YES!" he yelled accomplished. He grabbed his books and then proudly walked away.

Joe was still in a state of abruptness, as Charles shook his head, "Cary's…eccentric."

"Really?" Joe answered sarcastically.

The two began down the hallway, "Yeah…that's not the best part about him though."

"Oh God…" Joe laughed.

"Do you know that he's a pyro?"

Joe froze, "Pyro…maniac?"

"Yeah." Charles was being too casual for Joe, 'It's nothing really personal to him, he used to be really secretive about it."

Joe stood in front of Charles, unresponsive. He waved a hand that said not to worry about it, "He just _loves _fireworks and what else…he carries a lighter with him constantly." He noticed Joe's jaw slowly opening, "But he's not dangerous, if anything, he's scared of hurting anyone with it."

That somewhat comforted Joe. "So…why does he have it…then…?" Joe had awkward pauses in between his words. Charles shrugged,

"I understand, he adores fire…but, I'm not sure, you know, it's just a thing…" Charles tried to think of an example, "Like for example, when I was little, I had a Batman doll that I carried around everywhere." Joe began to snicker, "Don't laugh." Charles pleaded.

Joe held it down, "Okay, okay, but I _do _see what you're saying. It's…comforting."

"I guess you could say that."

The second bell rang, alerting the two boys to book it to get to their classes. Joe began to think about Charles and Cary. But this time is was about the lighter and doll thing. Joe thought about this one thing he kept since childhood. When he was _very _young, he was constantly on the go wherever his family's jobs would take them. He was 9 when they finally settled in Lillian, but the one thing Joe kept from all his houses and states was a pillow. A what is now dirty and raggedy old pillow. It sits in his closet to this day. It was the only piece of all his different homes he had. And he'd keep it until the next time he'd have to leave…_IF _he ever had to…

**BeautifulyBlue: Well guys, it's not much but it feels good to back 3**


	5. Chapter 5

**BeautifulyBlue: To those who are reading this and haven't unsubscribed, (I love you all by the way) this was originally going to be part of chapter four but due to the sudden change of content I decided it'd be best if it were an individual chapter (which explains why it's longer than usual) =) Just a little info! Also, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! **

Joe sat alone in his home that night, his mother was working late in the factory, which was unusual because her hours are from 7 to 3, and his father _always _worked until late. He had finished his homework…well, the ones he had to hand in his classes that were before lunch. He wanted to watch television, but there was either _The Dukes of Hazzard, The Waltons, _or if he was lucky, _The Muppet Show _on during weekdays.

Since T.V. was out, he decided to read some books, he started to read _Breakfast of Champions, _which was required to pass this year's English semester. It's about a famous guy…who isn't famous, so therefore he has a mental breakdown, and the book is just going into details about it. That's what Joe thought anyway. The thesis of the author's note even made his head hurt, so he put that one down. While scrounging through his book case, he found one of his mother's favorite books, _Sophie's Choice _by William Styron. He'd never read it before, and Elizabeth claimed he wasn't 'mature' enough to understand it yet. She had told him all about that wondrous book; it was post-World War II, in 1947, a young writer named Stingo who meets two strangers, Sophie and Nathan, who are a couple. Nathan was a paranoid schizophrenic Jew, angry at the world for not being able to fight for his people, and Sophie is a Polish holocaust survivor who is no stranger to pain.

The book would often elaborate on Sophie's beauty and her torment. She was a tall, blonde and pale woman…It made him think of Alice; tall, blonde, pale, and mysterious…Joe skimmed from chapter to chapter, the pages and spine of the book were worn out from being read so many times (his mother _adored _books that look like they've been read) the more he skimmed, the more interesting the book got (which was typical) but this book was different; Sophie was such a different type of character he had seen, she was fragile at appearance, but the more he read into her time at the concentration camps, the stronger Joe realized she was. He soon analyzed each page word by word, now taken hostage by the book in his hands. He had skipped a lot but that didn't matter, he had made it to the climax of the story. 'Sophie's Choice' was the name of the chapter he was on. He had thought it would be Sophie's love decision between Nathan, who had gone completely mad, and Stingo, who loved her with all his heart.

"_Stingo of course!" _he thought in his head. But then, she was going into another flashback…she was standing in line with her two children, a seven year old girl and an eleven year old boy. She was being forced to give up one to the gas chambers, or else she'd have to send both. Joe was _not _expecting this, he read on and on hoping her bravery would prevail once more but she had already been emotionally torn apart. She was grasping her children in her hands declaring 'NEVER'! when…

He heard the front door open. He quickly shoved the book back into the book case, "Joe! Are you home?"

"Yeah!" he stood up and saw his mother, her eyes were red and puffy with exhaustion, "Where were you?"

Elizabeth walked over to the couch and collapsed, huffing and puffing, she could barley move her arms, "I took in a job for Louis Dainard, couldn't make it." Joe nodded, she had taken a job for Louis? It must've been an emergency or something…he wondered about Alice. "I tried to call home but the phone lines were down…or something." She sat upright, "And let me tell you, I _do not _want to cook." Joe laughed,

"How about I order a pizza?"

Elizabeth grinned, "Extra pepperoni?"

The two dined with their extra pepperoni pizza with their paper cups and plates at the kitchen table, Lucy sat by Joe's chair, hoping her cuteness would convince him to 'drop' a pepperoni slice. Elizabeth immediately struck up a conversation,

"So, how's school?"

"Didn't you ask me that the other day?"

"Yes, and that was the other day, this is today." She had a streak of sarcasm.

"Well, it's been good, I met these two boys who actually live right across the street."

Elizabeth perked up in interest, "Oh really? Who?"

"They're Cary and Charles, they're really nice. They're cool too."

"What grade are they in?"

"Same as me." Joe never understood why that question was important.

"Well, you should invite them over I mean, it's not like they have to _walk._" She winked, Joe snickered.

The front door opened once more, "Hello?" it was his father, Jackson, the two were both surprised. Elizabeth jumped up,

"Jack! You're home early!"

"Yup I am…" he stepped in to the kitchen, delighted by the sight, "And I see you've got pizza!" he grabbed a slice from the box and immediately took a bite, he hadn't eaten since six o' clock that morning. Joe turned around in his chair,

"How was your day?"

"It was typical, some guy wanted a report file that the gears in his car engine were stolen, but then once we were ready to submit it to the chief, he called saying he had found them." He rolled his eyes, "Aggravating, but you get used to it."

Elizabeth sat back down, bringing Jack a drink to go with his food, "Anyways, how's school? We can finally catch up!"

Joe then began to tell him about Charles and Cary, he tended to avoid the Dainard's mainly because of his father's 'distrust' of Louis for some reason, he didn't mention his mother staying at work either, as he noticed she never brought it up either. Later he began talking about the book he had to read and how weird it was…that's when he _had _to bring it up.

"Um…mom? You know your favorite book _Sophie's Choice_?"

"Well of course, it's my favorite book!" Jackson laughed at her comment.

"I mean…the choice…I've always wanted to know what is was…" he was trying to act like he hadn't read it behind her back…and wasn't doing a very good job at it.

"Well…" she sighed, leaning her head back, "When she first arrives at the camp, she has two children, a six or seven year old girl and an eleven year old boy."

_"Seven" _Joe mumbled in his head.

"And when she's in line to go in the camp, one of the guards makes her choose which one of her children to send to the gas chambers and the other to work in the camp…"

"Well….she doesn't right? I mean, they're her children!"

"Well Joe, she refuses at first…but then they threaten to send them both so…" Elizabeth got goose bumps…having a child of her own made this difficult, "She knows her son would have an easier time in the camp, so she…without a choice, sends her little girl to die."

Joe couldn't believe it…He suddenly reflected on everything he had read, why Sophie accepted whatever verbal abuse given to her by Nathan…she felt she deserved it. She was tormented even before the novel began! "What happens after?" 

"Well, Stingo asks her to go live with her on a farm and she agrees."

Joe sighed, "So it's a happy ending right?" He saw the look on his father's face as he said that, Jackson got up and threw away his paper plate and cup and headed to the bathroom to go shower.

"No…" Elizabeth cleared her throat, "Sophie goes back to Nathan, and they both kill themselves."

Joe was speechless. There wasn't much more of a conversation afterwards.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Joe grabbed his things from his locker and headed to his first class, he wondered where Charles and Cary were. They were almost always there before him. That was when a familiar blonde came running from a distance. Joe commented on so,

"What's with you?"

"I was late this morning, had to freaking shower, freaking get dressed, freaking eat breakfast, then had take my freaking pill, and-"

"Pill?" Charles didn't mention anything about pills.

"Yeah, it's for…calming down or….whatever. It doesn't work obviously." Cary chuckled.

It wasn't for what Joe had thought, he laughed too. "Where's Charles?"

Cary shrugged, "I don't know. He wasn't feeling too good last night, so…"

The two ignored it and walked to math class. They were learning about the Pythagorean Theorem, the simplest of math equations, A squared plus B squared equals C squared. As Joe took notes, he noticed Cary drawing the word 'flame' in various fonts, with occasional margin notes. Once the lecture was over, the teacher always left enough time for the students to start (or more importantly, _finish_) their homework. Cary was always good with math, he and numbers were a good mix for some reason. He finished in about 10 minutes and realized there was only two minutes left. He raised his hand "Sir, may I use the restroom?" he knew how to act in front of teachers. The teacher looked at the clock, "There's only… 1 minute and 35 seconds left…why don't you take your stuff with you and get to your next class as well."

"Really?" The teacher nodded, "Thank you!" the kids stared at him in envy as he exited the room, Joe knew his situation though, Cary had to walk down the stairs, get his supplies from his locker, walk out of the building, across campus, and into the elective building. Joe smirked at Cary's luck. Then, a minute and 35 seconds later, the bell rang, the hallway was crowded the moment Joe entered, he walked into the stairway, however, there was something extremely strange.

He noticed the traffic of students slowing, there was a circle forming, a fight? He was able to make it through the crowd when he could hear over the muttering of students someone crying, he looked at the floor where a circle of room was made. Joe couldn't help it, he gasped loudly in shock.

Cary was on the floor crying…but the position he was in, his arms and legs were straight out, he laid on his stomach, his face partially covered by his arm which was shaking…as was his other arm…and his legs...The kids all started talking in confusion and fear, one boy finally ran passed Cary to the nurses office, Joe didn't know what to do, he wanted to get help, but as he looked at the poor Cary, he could see beyond his seizure-like movements, his one blue eye that was visible was looking right at him. He knelt down quickly next to him, "Cary!" he touched him, "Cary!" the shaking of his limbs wouldn't stop, there was no pauses at all, it was too constant for Joe to handle, Cary's gasps and cries wouldn't cease either.

Suddenly Joe was jerked back, "Give him some room!" It was the nurse, the principal was with her as well, "Call an ambulance, he's having a seizure." He said it so calmly, "Everyone get to class!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, Joe slowly walked down, but he waited at the bottom step, hiding behind the wall next to the set of stairs, the more the staircase quieted down, the more he could hear Cary's pain…it was too much, he left.


	6. Chapter 6

**BeautifulyBlue: **SHORT CHAPTER WARNING!

An ambulance never came, Joe had been uneasy all class waiting for the sound of a siren, in which he'd look out the window and see Cary in a stretcher. It never happened. What if something worse had happened? He just couldn't pay attention, lunch was next though, maybe he'd stop by the office and ask the principal what went on.

It felt like an eternity until the bell finally rang, instead of going to the cafeteria, Joe headed towards the main office downstairs. He was going to ask the head administrator to see the principal, but he noticed something else, he saw Cary in the nurse's office. He seemed like a different than from whom he saw in the staircase an hour ago; he was sitting upright on the 'bed', leaning against the wall, and he was tossing a rubber band ball that he probably made up and down.

Joe rushed in, "Cary!" Cary turned towards him, recognizing his voice immediately,

"Oh hey!" he tossed the ball in the air one more time, "Check it out!" I made this in the 5th grade and I found it. I was gonna show it to you earlier but-"

Joe was suddenly in his face, "Are you okay?" Cary looked at him confused, he was almost as confused as Joe was.

"Yeah…why? Did something happen?"

Joe backed away a bit, he decided to sit down with him, "Ah…yes, a _huge _something." Cary was simply nodding, pretending to agree with him.

"Well, I guess I'm here for a reason, huh." He chuckled, tossing his ball from hand to hand "My parents are coming to pick me up, so-"

Joe interrupted him once again, "You mean you don't remember what happened in the staircase?"

Cary turned to him, now more confused, "The staircase?"

"Cary…" his confusion was almost more pitiful than what had happened, "You had a seizure…" Joe was suddenly unsure whether it had happened or not himself.

Cary was about to question Joe, then it suddenly hit him, "Oh that! Yeah…that wasn't fun."

Joe grew irritated, "Well it must've been nothing considering you don't even remember it!"

Cary gave out his irritation right back, "Will you calm down? Jeez." He had gone from playfully bouncing the hand-crafted ball in his hands to rolling it around on his palm.

"I'm sorry." Joe started, "I was really worried about you okay? And it bugs me that you don't think it's a big deal."

Cary snapped at Joe, "Dude! I was hardly there while it was happening." Joe looked at him in both sympathy and confusion, it was hopeless Cary thought, he sighed, "It happened so fast, but then it felt like nothing happened at all, it's hard to explain. I felt weird all morning but I didn't think it was a problem. I don't remember the staircase…I remember lying on my back on this bed and…I remember hearing _you _for some reason."

Joe realized Cary did hear him, making him feel better that he knew he tried to help, sort of…

"God…I guess that was a real malnfunction I had earlier." At least he still had his sense of humor, he clicked his tongue, "And I think I know why." He had Joe's full on attention, "My pills, I think I took three instead of two." That was enough to reassure Joe it wouldn't happen again. Cary was in a weird mood, he felt both confused, unhinged and for some reason, ashamed all at once, "Did everyone see me?"

Joe sat in an upward position, posture was important to him for some reason, "Yes, but that's good because someone was able to get the nurse."

Cary winced in confusion "It wasn't you?"

"Well…no, but I tried to help you…but I just didn't want to leave you alone." He had to say it, "You were looking right at me."

Cary nodded, "Joe, I remember nothing…" there was a brief silence, "Was I shaking?"

The sight of Cary during his episode gave Joe chills, he didn't know why but it did, "Yeah. GOD you were shaking." He held up his arms in position, shaking them ever so slightly, "Your arms were like this, and your legs were shaking with them…your whole body kind of followed with them."

"I wasn't banging my head on the floor or anything though right?" Cary knew most seizures caused head trauma. 

"No, no." Joe reassured, "But you were crying."

Cary sighed in embarrassment, "Crap…and everyone saw me you said."

Joe didn't understand Cary's shame, it made him kind of annoyed, "Cary, you were having a seizure, I think that's acceptable." Cary suddenly put his palm over his face, he mumbled something under his breath, he seemed more bothered than he already was, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah…I just remembered," he paused, "I just remembered that shock I felt when I hit the floor." He and Joe gazed at each other in each other's eyes, it was almost as if they were communicating, Cary had these bright blue, expressive eyes where from looking at them, you knew what he was feeling, "I don't remember the seizure though…and I'm happy about that."

Joe wanted to talk about it more, how surreal it was, within those 30 seconds how Cary suddenly changed, but he knew Cary wasn't taking it well. He tried to comfort him instead, "Well, if you don't overdose by accident again, you won't have another one." Cary didn't smile, nor show any sign that he was listening.

"Maybe if you go home and look at that match you have, you'll feel better. You're a pyro right?"

Cary's eyes slowly grew fierce, yet they were calm he winced in anger in confusion, his stare bore straight into Joe's eyes, "What did you call me?" he asked quietly

Joe became tense, uncomfortable, "A pyro…It's not a problem that I know, right?"

"Yes it is." He'd forgotten about their conversation completely, "Who told you?"Joe choked, he was too afraid that Charles would kill him for this, Cary's interrogation continued, "Was it Charles?" Joe lost his nerve and nodded. Cary's angry eyes widened, turning away for probably a millisecond before looking back into Joe's eyes, "It's something I like to keep private, maybe not to Charles, not to my brother, but to everyone else I don't know." Joe had never felt so afraid of someone whom he dominated in size. Cary stared at the floor angrily, unable to feed Joe his stare any longer.

"Cary, I won't tell anyone I promise." Joe spoke softly, in a soothing tone, he meant it. He was always a man of his word, that tone meant absolute integrity. Cary slowly looked up at him,

"You won't?"

Joe nodded, "No. I'd never tell if you weren't comfortable with it."

Cary's look, at last, softened a look of pure gratitude. Joe noticed something unusual about it though, he looked like he would tear up, "What's wrong?"

"Charles uses that to scare people away from us…he thinks that no one would be able to understand us." Cary's tone softened even more, he looked so…innocent.

An administrator walked in, "Cary?" they both turned towards her, "Your mother's here." Cary looked at Joe with appreciation once more before slumping his bag over his shoulder and walking away, not turning back.

Joe wasn't sure what he had done…but he felt warm on the inside about it, he made a promise he could keep. That always made him feel good. He went to lunch albeit he had missed the first 15 minutes.


End file.
